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Witchearth
Population: 5,000+ Founding Date: ''94 A.F. ''Primary Religion: Varied evil cults and gods Once known as Ebdulrath, Witchearth stands for all evil and corrupted things in the Common Lands. A special brand of evil, rather than seeking dominion or destruction, the leaders of Witchearth, the Hag Council, look to corrupt the world and then let it while away in wanton gluttony and sin. DM's Guide to Witchearth Local Dungeons: The Filth Below, The Locker, Sacarium of the Wicked, Sewer Entrance Early Years and Changes in Leadership The ground that is now Witchearth was once the minor human kingdom of Soniirin. All sign of that kingdom was destroyed, only a blasted stretch of lands remained. Forests grew back and the scattered men of the land found themselves changed forever. Now the sun stung their faces and they crawled into holes and burrows like creatures. They called themselves Duergar. In 94 A.F., one among them, a sorcerer named Ebdul, gathered his people around allies who had traveled from the swamps to the north, a trio of hags. Their names were Sonya, Gretchen, and Agatha. The helped the Duergar rebuild their kingdom, resulting in a sprawling city they named Ebdulrath. Another smaller town, named Gutterblow, was built on top of a great iron deposit and became a invaluable resource. What was not known is that Ebdul promised the Hags wealth and worship in exchange for their magics and their powers of foresight. The first move was towards the Little Folk. in 127 A.F. Ebdul reached out to the Little Folk, but was turned away in favor of another nearby kingdom, Azuran. Ebdul grew to hate both of them and was frustrated to find a lack of territory to conquer. The Hags sensed weakness and murdered Ebdul merely six months after failing to sway the Little Folk. Declaring themselves the Hag Council (or the Hag Triumvirate), they renamed Ebdulrath to Witchearth. The Duergar who were loyal to Ebdul staged a coup to throw out the hags, but found they had very little power to fight the extremely potent magic of the Hags. After the Duergar were pacified, the Hags brought in ogres, trolls, and other foul creatures from the Fellbog. Over the following years, the dirty, but orderly nation of Duergar became dank, wet, and overrun with other creatures. The great sewers built to sustain the city were infested by oozes and those who could not survive the sun. However, the Duergar guards in the street kept order during the day. Brawls became common. Gambling spread as well as commerce. During the day, the city was rough and shady. It was only once night fell that horror walked the streets. Witchearth, Den of Sin By 200 A.F., Witchearth had drawn the attention of every demon, devil, lich, bandit-lord, and would-be-tyrant in the land. Usually coming with threats of conquest of plunder, the Hags are very good manipulators. Even though great armies were brought to their door, they often entered as guests. Witchearth soaked up al the trade that the "upstart humans up the coast" turned away. They bartered in slaves, souls, body parts, and every other unmentionable thing under the sun, though gold was quickly accepted as well. Souls were particularly hard to value. Usually a ghastly face in a magically enchanted bottle, it was hard to tell without serious divination the worth of nature of the given soul. The Hag Council began trading in Diabola, the currency of hell. A single Diabola is about two inches wide, surprisingly light, brass in color, and is always warm and vibrates ever so slightly. Each Diabola contains the soul of a mortal or essence of a being. Upon once side is a number of stars ranging from one to thirteen. On the other side is the profile of the individual whose soul is held within. A standard mortal soul is worth one star and can be bought for 1,000 gp. As the soul was increasingly important, was very innocent and pure, or had achieved much the stars increased. A king could be between 5-8 stars. Thirteen stars are reserved for the souls of nigh-immortal beings. A standard for stars was created and is still used as the standard measure. The exact worth of a soul can always be bargained for higher or lower than the indicated measure. # 1000 gp. (Standard mortal peasant) # 3,330 gp. (A brave warrior, children, or knight) # 11,088 gp. (A sage, low noble, or learned person) # 36,926 gp. (An elder sage, mid-level noble, baron, or a duke) # 122,963 gp. (Experienced mages or clerics, wealthy elite) # 409,469 gp. (Powerful non-humanoids, royalty, and extra-planar beings) # 655,150 gp. (Kings and Queens, the truly pure of heart, and elder mages) # 1,048,240 gp. (Legendary Kings and Queens, epic warriors, paladins) # 1,677,185 gp (Epic Mages, High Priests of Good Deities) # 2,683,496 gp. (standard celestial beings) # 4,293,593 gp. (important celestial beings, Djinni, Epic Paladins) # 6,869,749 gp. (High Celestial Beings, Planar Lords) # 10,991,599+ gp. (Gods, Arch-Angels, and Fey Lords) One major roadblock for growth was the two-faced nature of surviving Witchearth. Business boomed during the day, but then those same merchants were being hunted by assassins, thugs, and monsters at night. The Hag's answer was the Tolls of Night and Day. A central bell tower in Ebdul Keep was constructed. The bells will ring three times before nightfall, three times every hour before nightfall, and six times once the sun has set. These same bells ring again three times two hours before sunrise and an additional three times at sunrise. At the same time, a mysterious group formed to help the people of Witchearth survive the night. They call themselves the Silver Chime. They only ever appear at night and wear large dark coats and masks. Every mask is customized by the member to reflect themselves. The mask is also to hide their identity, as Silver Chime members are sometimes harassed by the Triumvirate's guards and taxmen. Chime members usually wield holy powers or carry silvered or magical weapons. In all cases, they specialize in protecting others or killing evil creatures. One standard piece of equipment is a small silver bell. The Chimers ring the bell as they wander the streets, both as a warning to foul creatures and a beacon of help for citizens. The War of Kindling Azuran did not go blind to the evil neighbor it had acquired. By 300 A.F., both kingdoms had grown in power and were almost too big to be near each other. The Battle of Bandyville in 304 A.F. grieved the Empire, but they could not intervene. However, this attack by Witchearth scared the Empire into action. It showed that Witchearth was willing to commit atrocities in flagrantly unwarranted wars for their own gain. Azuran began arming. Their dealings with the Hags were often of territorial disputes and the nature of things shipped through their lands. A large dispute arose in 358 A.F. over a patch of trees called Femmen Hill that divided the two nations. Azurani woodcutters had been driven off by Duergar archers. The Duergar then went about choping down the trees for themselves. A legion of Azuran warriors arrived to enforce their ownership of the treeline. This seemingly small dispute ignited a powder keg of tension and planning from both sides. Azuran mustered its army and marched it south. The Hag Triumvirate had planned to goad Azuran to war and was already prepared. When the legions of Azuran soldiers arrived, the Hag's forces had already dug in. The Azuran Empire had never fought another nation and the lack of experience showed. Though the small Duergar were a match for Azurani soldiers, the Hag's use of Trolls, Ogres, evil spirits, and forbidden, dark magic overwhelmed the Azuran soldiers. In amatter of five hours, the Hags had forced Azuran into full retreat and decimated a full third of its men at arms. The Triumvirate's army pressed north. However, they failed to consider the environment around Azuran. As forest gave way to plains, the harsh desert sun burned the Duergar and their allies. Unable to effectively fight in daylight, they pulled back a mere five miles from the walls of Azuran. The Hag Council's wrath for this seeming cowardice was great. However, they still held Femmen Hill. The lumber and the pride of victory went back to Witchearth. The Middle Years and the Dark War Between 360 A.F. and 520 A.F., every kingdom experienced a boon of progress, growth, and modernity except for Azuran. Under the thumb of Witchearth, the evil city choked all trade around it, even casting a shadow upon the Hearthland at times. Witchearth grew large and fat upon the amount of foul trade in bartered in. The streets were dangerous, but the taverns were full. Evil creatures skulked at night and found prey to feast on, but legions of carousers and Duergar lived day to day there. The Hag Triumvirate, Sonya, Gretchen, and Agatha, had sat on the throne for centuries now. They had faced many evil patrons who looked for worship or dominion, but every time they were able to face down the enemy or bring it to their side. In addition to an army of nightmares, Witchhearth had amassed a legion of conditional allies. In particular, the Yuan-Ti across the sea were considered as very useful to their future. Seeking to strangle Azuran further, in 520 A.F. Witchearth seized the strait south of their city and declared a new works project. A great bridge to unite Dhulkamas and the Common Lands. The overt intent was to bring a massive army of Yuan-Ti to bear upon the Little Folk, Azuran, and all who would oppose the Hag Council. They would never admit this to ambassadors though. This blockade brought about a visit from Emperor Antonio of Azuran. Leaving disgraced, war was soon to come. The Dark War of 523 A.F. was a complex conflict with many details that can be found in other parts of this collection. However, the Hag Triumvirate lost the war. Their own Yuan-Ti allies turned against them at a critical moment and pushed the Hag's dominion back to Gutterblow. Defeat caused many to lose faith in the Hag Council's leadership. in 528 A.F., the Night of Torches saw the entirety of the city of Witchearth united in discontent against the Hags. When their powers of manipulation and deceit failed in the face of the mob, they turned to violence. Once again, the ogres and trolls listened to their masters and the three Hags walked the streets themselves, visiting terrible torture and harm against those who would question them. The city was silent and lifeless for a week before the cycle of debauchery and sin began once more. Present Day Witchearth is powerful once more. The shame of defeat has been forgotten and now Witchearth reaches out towards the outside world. A delegation has been sent to the Sildan human clan of the Western Mountains. Rumors of a curse of sleep and oppressive rule now leak from the isolated community of monk warriors. At home, the borders of Witchearth are watched closely by suspicious allies. The Yuan-Ti and the Hags have returned to friendship, or what can be called friendship among traitorous schemers. They now look east to the stale Sapphire Veil with ideas of conquest. The Hags are assumed to be immortal at this point. They have not once shown weakness or age in 600 years of history. Their rule is iron and few have the power or desire to oppose them from within. The Swine and the Flight of the Duergar